IBM “Jeopardy” Challenge Day 2: Very Different From Day One

When we last left our human heroes, one of them had drawn even while another was far behind the supercomputer Watson in a match of the uniquely human game of “Jeopardy.” The computer was winning raves for holding its own against the game’s best human players.

Day two was very different. Watson dominated, winning nearly every buzzer and answering nearly every “Jeopardy” clue put to it, correctly. The first segment was all Watson, and it would be like that all night. The computer jumped out to an enormous lead, quickly breaking last night’s tie, soon running up a score of $21,035 to $5,000 for Brad Rutter and $2,000 for Ken Jennings, the scores they had at the close of play last night.

One question about French art stumped all three players, including the computer, and so all three lost the same amount of money on the board.

And at one point, Watson drew an early Daily Double about the designer of Emanuel and Pembroke Colleges. The answer was “Sir Christopher Wren.” Watson wagered $6,435, an oddly precise amount that drew some laughter from the crowd. Watson answered correctly, and the room erupted in applause, and a shot of the crowd showed IBM researcher David Ferrucci, widely seen as the public face of the research team that built and worked on Watson, looking something like a proud father. IBM CEO Sam Palmisano was also visible in audience shots.